Fly Like an Eagle, Run Like the Wind
by Laura Picken
Summary: When Joey puts her life in danger to protect a little boy, Dawson saves her, but in the process reveals a new and...unique talent. But is it as unique as Dawson and his friends think it is? And who is the mysterious man stalking them all over Capeside?
1. Chapter 1

Fly Like an Eagle, Run Like the Wind  
A Flash / Dawson's Creek crossover  
by Laura Picken

Hi all! While I'm not a huge fan of Dawson's Creek, I'm a sucker for a good romance.  
And, since I'm massively hooked on Charmed, it's given me the opportunity to catch a  
couple episodes of Dawson's Creek this season.

DISCLAIMER: The Dawson's Creek characters belong to Kevin Williamson and  
whatever the heck the name of his production company is. The Flash belongs to DC Comics, and the characters from the TV version of the Flash belong to Danny  
Bilson and Paul DiMeo (Pet Fly Productions). Chances of them coming up with  
something like this - are you kidding? I just hope they enjoy it enough that they won't  
sue me.

SPOILERS: This is completely, 100% AU. I'm recreating the DC world as I see fit.  
Figure on the story being set in about May/June of the current school year for the DC  
crew - roughly four/five months after the events in Reluctant Hero. Apologies to those  
of you who like more of Jen in their stories-good, bad or otherwise. After she missed the  
opening sequence, she kinda got left out of the loop. Oh, and I'm making the  
assumption here of a Pacey/Andie romance. C'mon guys, he's got to get over Ms. Jacobs  
-sometime-...*g*

Feedback always welcome!

On with the show...

****

Dawson, Pacey, Andie and Joey relaxed on the blankets Andie had brought, enjoying the  
perfect Indian summer day. Pacey sighed, relaxing contentedly at how it felt to have  
Andie in his arms without distraction. "Now, I don't know about you guys, but I believe  
that it is far too nice a day today to be cooped up in some cramped schoolroom learning  
about the French Revolution, don't you agree?" Everyone nodded their heads in  
agreement, and even Andie looked up at Pacey and smiled.

The loving expression on Andie's face so captivated Pacey that neither of them noticed  
Dawson and Joey fidgeting restlessly just two feet away from them. Joey spotted a  
husband and wife having a picnic with their two young children several feet away from  
them, and she deliberately let the children's antics catch her attention while her mind  
wandered. It had been several months since she had told Dawson she needed her  
'space'. And while she still believed that Dawson loved her, Joey was...uncertain.  
Without question, Dawson Leery was her best friend. She felt like she could talk to him  
about anything, and it hurt like hell when they fought or were stuck being away from  
each other.

And yet...it was almost like they were on two rowboats tied together with a long piece of  
string. Sometimes they were so close, so together that each of them could take an oar  
and move both boats in the same direction at the same time without breaking the  
connection between them. Sometimes they would bump heads, but only for a brief,  
clanging moment before separating, when the contented peace of their relationship  
would fill their lives once again.

But now, though, it felt like they were drifting apart, and that thin cord that kept their  
boats tied together was badly frayed and about to break for good. [Listen to me,] she  
thought, chuckling lightly to herself, [Now -I'm- beginning to sound like Dawson...] A  
loud clap of thunder followed by a torrential downpour of rain interrupted Joey's  
musings, and she cursed under her breath in frustration.

Pacey was equally as frustrated by the sudden storm. "And -just- as things were  
beginning to get interesting," he exclaimed, "God decides to dump a bucket of water on  
our heads!" The wind started to pick up, blowing the four friends around mercilessly as  
they and the young couple sought sanctuary in the picnic shelter. Collapsing on the  
ground as soon as they no longer felt the rain beating down on them, they all rested,  
grateful for even the small modicum of protection the three brick walls allowed them  
from the increasingly harsh weather.

The young mother was the first to break the silence among the group when, looking  
around, she realized that her family was short one member. Concerned, she turned to  
her older son. "Christopher? Where's your brother?"

The young boy simply shrugged. "I dunno."

"Well," the mother replied patiently, "What were you doing when it started to rain?"

"Playing hide-and-seek. He musta hid real good, I guess."

The young mother exchanged a pleading look with her husband, and the man sighed  
deeply. "Okay, honey, I'll go look for him."

A light bulb went off in Joey's mind, and she jumped up to intercept the young father.  
"I'll go with you," she insisted, "I think I saw where he went."

The man inspected the small wisp of a girl who was offering to help him, and wondered  
idly if she wasn't going to blow away in the fierce windstorm. Then again, she saw  
where Alec was hiding. What did he have to lose? The young father sighed. "All right,  
kid. C'mon."

And before Dawson had a chance to protest, Joey was gone.

*****

He knew he shouldn't have been surprised. Joey was the type of person who would go  
out on a limb for anybody-had been since she was a kid. It didn't worry Dawson any  
less, though, when she took a stupid risk to help someone else.

Like she was doing right now.

Dawson loved Joey more than anything else in his life. So, he figured, worrying came  
with the territory.

Standing just at the edge of the shelter, Dawson watched with a strange mix of pride,  
fear and that familiar worry as Joey and the young boy's father searched the tall reeds  
near the old Maple tree. He could barely hear the two of them calling, "Alec! Alec!"  
over the sound of the howling wind and the pounding of the rain on the tin roof above  
their heads.

Finally, they found the boy in the hollow under one of the tree's biggest branches, and  
Dawson watched as the boy jumped into the safety of his father's waiting arms. Dawson  
could almost make out Joey's smile from where he stood, and he relaxed, knowing  
everything was going to be all right, but still praying that the group would be able to get  
out of the rain safely - and soon.

The sickening CRRRRRACCCCCK of the lightning's impact on the tree was only  
amplified by the deafening clap of thunder everyone heard less than a split second later.  
Dawson watched in horror as the old maple tree started to split down the middle, one  
half threatening to land directly on top of Joey-

*****

"NOOOOOO!"

Pacey could clearly hear his best friend's terror-filled scream over everything else that  
was going on. He was huddled with a shivering Andie in the back of the shelter, just  
waiting for the storm to blow over. Whatever Dawson was seeing, it was big. Very,  
very big. Pacey jumped up to see what was frightening Dawson so badly...

...only to be nearly knocked over by the huge gust of wind that blew into the shelter.  
Regaining his composure, Pacey looked up to see that his friend had-vanished? Into  
thin air? What the heck was going on here? Scanning the view in front of him, it  
wasn't hard to miss the young father Joey was helping, holding on to his son for dear  
life-while staring at the trunk of the old Maple tree that had split in two. [Ohmygod,]  
thought Pacey, [Joey could be under that thing...]

Pacey started to run toward the maple tree himself as another powerful gust of wind  
drove him back into the shelter. When he regained his footing, he looked up to see his  
best friend Dawson had reappeared in the shelter - dry as a bone,

and cradling a very shell-shocked Joey in his arms.

The young father ran back into the shelter before any of the group had calmed down  
enough to speak. Pacey was the first to find his voice. "Dawson, what happened?  
Where were you just now?"

"Lightning struck the tree," replied Joey as she watched Alec run into his anxious  
mother's waiting arms. Hearing his friends' voices shook Dawson back to reality, and he  
set Joey down so she could continue telling her story. "This huge piece was going to hit  
Alec and his father. I pushed them out of the way, but I guess I didn't move fast enough  
because the next thing I remember was seeing the tree coming toward me..."

Now even Andie was curious. She moved closer to the group, standing behind Pacey as  
she asked, "Well, then what happened?"

Still a little bewildered, Joey shrugged, "I just remember moving really fast, and the next  
thing I knew I was here, being carried by-Dawson?"

Joey's eyes widened as she realized who had saved her life. The question was, -how-?  
Turning to face Dawson, she touched his hair lightly - it was completely dry, even  
though they had -all- been caught in the rain and everyone else (including her) was still  
drenched. Touching various parts of his clothing, Joey could tell that the only parts of  
Dawson's clothes that were still wet were the parts that had been in direct contact with  
her. The rest of his clothes were not only dry, they seemed almost warm at the edges -  
like they had just come out of a dryer. Barely able to find her voice, Joey asked,  
"Dawson? Do -you- know what happened just now?"

Stumbling for a minute to try and find his balance, Dawson looked back out at the tree,  
then over at Joey. He was just as shocked as she was. "Joey, the last thing I remember  
was seeing that part of the tree coming toward you. I just knew I couldn't watch you  
die."

Hearing the terror in his voice, Joey came up and wrapped her arms around Dawson,  
pulling him into a tight embrace. Pacey and Andie also stood at the edge of the shelter,  
looking out to the old maple tree which the lighting had split down the middle. As the  
wind and rain continued to swirl around them, the four friends thoughts were as one:  
Joey should have been dead, but she wasn't. So what had just happened here?

*****

The storm finally broke an hour later, allowing the four friends to head home, but only  
after the young couple profusely thanked Joey for helping them find their son and  
Dawson for making sure that everyone made it back in one piece.

As the group walked along the muddy road, everyone's thoughts were on how close they  
had come to seeing one of their friends die. The -only- thing that any of them were sure  
of was that Dawson had saved Joey's life. But how? The only thing that Dawson could  
tell them was, "I can't explain it either. I saw that the tree was about to hit Joey, so I  
started running..."

Andie was the first to come up with a theory. "Maybe it was an adrenaline rush or  
something like that..."

Pacey looked over at Andie, confused. "An adrenaline rush?"

"Yeah," she replied, "I heard about something like this happening once on one of those  
emergency rescue shows on TV. This woman's son had been pinned when her car  
flipped over, and she was so scared that he was going to die, that she flipped the car over  
by herself. The doctors said it was because the fear had produced so much adrenaline in  
her system."

It sounded like a possible explanation to Pacey, except for one thing. "I'd buy that,  
except that Dawson was running -so- fast I couldn't even -see- him! A really strong guy  
could lift a car, so I could see someone being able to do it in a situation like that. But  
this..."

Andie started to open her mouth, then closed it again quickly. She couldn't explain it  
either.

Dawson and Joey were not listening to their friends' discussion. Instead, they walked a  
few steps behind Pacey and Andie, gravitating, as always, to each other for the comfort  
they so desperately needed. Especially now. Joey shivered as she thought again about  
what had almost happened to her in that storm. She could have died today. She almost  
-did- die today. Heck, she -should- have died today. It was humanly impossible for  
Dawson to have done the things he did to save her life.

And yet he did.

Andie's explanation of 'adrenaline rushes' broke through Joey's profound thoughts, and  
she latched onto the idea, pondering it. "Dawson?"

Dawson shook his head slightly, as if Joey's quiet words had shaken him out of his own  
deep thinking. "Yeah, Jo?"

"Do you think what happened today was just a freak one-time thing?"

Dawson shrugged. In truth, he had started to pass it off as a once-in-a-lifetime thing,  
except for the fact that he...felt different, somehow. That was the only way to explain it.  
"Only one way to find out, I guess."

Joey looked over at her old friend with a mixture of fear and wary skepticism. What was  
he thinking of -doing-? "Dawson..."

Before she could completely voice her protest, he was gone.

And before Joey could tell Pacey and Andie what had happened, Dawson had returned  
with the stuffed shark from his bedroom in his hands and a completely stunned  
expression on his face. He had been more than willing to shrug the storm off as a freak  
incident and just be grateful that Joey had gotten out of that mess okay. But the gray  
shark he now held in his hands was an indication that there was something else going  
on here. Something very, very weird. Dawson handed the shark to an equally stunned  
Joey and sat down, completely oblivious to the soaking wet grass beneath him. What in  
God's name was happening to him?

*****

The criss-crossing blast of wind was enough of an indication to Pacey that something  
had just happened again. He turned around to find Joey trying to comfort a very stunned  
Dawson, who was sitting on the ground a couple of yards behind him. Tapping Andie  
on the shoulder to get her attention, the pair quickly jogged back to where their friends  
were sitting. Pacey asked Joey, "What happened?"

Her hand never leaving Dawson's shoulder, she explained. "Dawson wanted to see if  
what happened back at the park was just a freak thing. So he ran home...and came back  
with this less than a minute ago."

Taking the shark from Joey's hand, Pacey's eyes widened in amazement. Dawson's  
home was over a mile away from where they were... Chuckling, Pacey commented,  
"Man, wait until the track team gets a load of you now..."

"No!" The vehemence in Dawson's voice surprised everyone. Lowering his eyes,  
Dawson insisted, "No one hears about what happened this afternoon, all right? I feel  
like a big enough -freak- right now as it is..."

The concern for Dawson was evident in Joey's eyes. Rubbing her hand reassuringly  
along Dawson's back, she agreed. "You're absolutely right, Dawson." Looking up to  
face the equally concerned faces of her friends, Joey continued, "Guys, what do you  
think our lives would end up like if word got out about something like this?"

Two heads nodded in agreement. It was obvious to everyone what would happen to  
Dawson if this wasn't kept under wraps. Joey turned back to tend to her friend, when a  
thought occurred to her. "Dawson, maybe you -should- have a doctor check you out,  
though..."

Dawson looked up at her with a bewildered expression on his face. "Jo, are you crazy?  
Didn't we just agree-?"

Joey cut him off before he could finish the argument. "I know we just agreed to keep  
this a secret, but what if this means that something else is going on? That you're getting  
sick or something?"

Andie nodded her head in agreement. "Jo's right, Dawson. This has -got- to be  
affecting your body somehow. Maybe you should see a doctor."

Pacey chimed in, "And a doctor would have to keep this a secret anyway. You know,  
that whole doctor-patient confidentiality kind of thing."

Dawson sighed. His friends were right, and even he was starting to think that it might  
be good to have a doctor's reassurances that nothing was -physically- wrong with him.  
One question, though, did come to mind. "There's just one problem, though. I can't  
make the appointment myself without raising some sort of red flag with them calling my  
mom. How do I get in to -see- a doctor?"

To everyone's surprise, Andie simply smiled. Patting Dawson on the ankle, she assured  
him, "You just leave that to me, Dawson. I'll take care of it."

Pacey raised a surprised eyebrow at the devious little glint in Andie's eye. "Andie,  
Andie, Andie," he teased, "What am I ever going to do with you?"

Andie simply grinned in response. "Hey, I can't be spending so much time around the  
master without picking up a few tricks, now can I?"

The group allowed themselves to chuckle in response, easing the tension enough that  
they were able to get up and start off again in a relaxed frame of mind, unaware of the  
figure lurking in the shadows, watching as Dawson headed home.


	2. Chapter 2

Dawson began putting his shirt back on as old Doc Mitchell came back into the  
examining room. Trying to keep the nervousness out of his voice, Dawson asked, "So  
what's the good word, Doc? Everything check out?"

Doc Mitchell looked up from the chart he was reading, startled by Dawson's question.  
Regaining his composure quickly, the doctor replied, "Oh, yes, Dawson...You're  
perfectly healthy. I see nothing wrong with you that about ten hours of sleep and a  
better diet wouldn't cure, but then that's a teenager for you..."

Dawson smiled as he hopped off the table, relieved at the doctor's proclamation that he  
was 'perfectly healthy'. "Well, thanks for seeing me on such short notice, Doc."

That seemed to startle Doc Mitchell out of some more heavy thinking. Distracted, the  
doctor responded, "Oh, it's no trouble at all, Dawson." Looking up, he seemed to  
remember something. "Don't you have papers you need me to sign or something?"  
[Those schools nowadays always need more paperwork...]

Keeping up with the charade that got him in to see Doc Mitchell in the first place,  
Dawson furrowed his brow in confusion. "Didn't my mom fax them over to you?"

The doctor shook his head. "I'll ask the girls up front, though."

Dawson nodded in agreement. "Well, if she hasn't sent them already, I'm sure they'll  
come through sometime today." Snapping his fingers, Dawson whistled quietly, waiting  
for the doctor to dismiss him.

Doc Mitchell looked up at Dawson as if the young man were distracting him from  
finding the cure for cancer. Realizing that the boy was just being polite, the doctor told  
him, "We're finished, Dawson." Shaking the boy's offered hand, he dismissed Dawson,  
"It's good seeing you again."

"It's been good seeing you too, Doc." Dawson couldn't hide the relief on his face. "It's  
definitely been good seeing you."

Doc Mitchell waited until Dawson turned around and left the office, then picked up the  
phone. After the party on the other end picked up, he spoke quietly into the receiver.  
"It's Terry. I told you I'd call you if one of Dawson's physicals ever came up with  
anything unusual?...Well, what I have here definitely qualifies as unusual..."

*****

The jingle of bells alerted Pacey that someone had just entered the video store. Looking  
up, he immediately spotted Dawson, whose shift he had covered so that his friend could  
see the doctor about his new 'condition'. Curiosity began to eat away at him. "Hey,  
Dawson. What did the doctor say?"

Looking through the shelf with the recently returned videos, Dawson's eyes roamed the  
store, scanning for customers. When he was assured the two of them were alone, he  
whispered to Pacey, "The doctor says I'm a genetic mutant and I have about six months  
left to live."

Pacey's eyes widened in surprise. "Really?!"

To his surprise, Dawson started laughing. It was then that Pacey realized his friend was  
joking with him.

Dodging the approaching copy of 'Phenomenon' that Pacey tried to throw at him,  
Dawson told his friend, "He didn't find anything wrong. According to him, I'm  
'perfectly healthy'."

Pacey blinked twice, confused by what his friend had told him. "So that's it, I guess?  
You just learn to live with being faster than the speed of light?"

Dawson shrugged, "Guess so." Feeling the desire to get as far away from this topic as  
he could, Dawson then changed the subject to his own favorite topic. Movies. "So you  
got plans for tonight, Pace? There's a new movie playing at the multiplex. I figured I'd  
check it out."

Pacey shrugged in agreement, then his eyes widened with the realization of what was  
playing. "It's that X-Files movie, right?"

Even as Dawson nodded he could see the joke coming. Pacey pretended to think it over,  
then replied, "Well, how could I -possibly- resist the opportunity to go see The X-Files  
with my best friend, the only actual -living- X-File..."

Dawson glared at Pacey, then tossed the copy of 'Phenomenon' back at his friend's head.  
This started a full-blown game of tape football until Stan came in, bringing several tapes  
from the back room. He smiled when he saw Dawson and Pacey. "Ah, Dawson, glad  
you're back. Now we can get started."

Dawson and Pacey looked at their boss in confusion. "Started with what?"

Stan returned the confused look. "You mean you don't remember?" As the two young  
men shook their heads, he patiently informed them, "Well, as I have been reminding you  
both for the past two weeks, tonight's inventory night." As Stan went to get more tapes  
from the back room, he called out to Dawson and Pacey, "Hope you don't have plans,  
gentlemen!"

Dawson and Pacey groaned in unison at the thought of a night spend counting tapes in  
the store. As soon as the door closed, though, a light bulb seemed to go off over Pacey's  
head, and he looked to Dawson with a sly grin on his face.

Dawson knew -immediately- what his friend was thinking, and he did -not- want to risk  
it. "Pace, no!"

Pacey was undaunted. "C'mon Dawson! Which would you rather do? Spend the night  
in here with me counting tapes? Or go to the movies with Joey?"

Dawson rolled his eyes and turned away from his friend's pleading face. Naturally  
Pacey would bring -that- up as an argument to make sure he got what he wanted. A  
small part of Dawson's mind was still uncertain if he could fully control his new  
abilities, and he had been hoping he could wait and not use them again until he had  
some more time to...practice, for lack of a better word. Still, he -had- gone straight to  
his house earlier, and not five times around the world, and going to the movies tonight  
did sound like fun... Looking around the small room, Dawson realized this could be  
easier than he thought. Turning to his friend, Dawson suggested, "Keep Stan busy for a  
while?"

Pacey smiled. He could get used to this new side of his friend. "You got it, pal. Hey,  
Stan?"

A voice called out from the back, "Yeah, Pacey?"

"Since we're going to be here all night, would you mind if we got some pizza and ate  
here? It might make things go faster."

Stan sighed, and made his way back up to the front of the store. "All right, Pacey, I'll  
order pizza, since you guys agreed to help and all."

"Great!" Pacey enthused. Already he was ushering the older man out the door. "Why  
don't we pick it up ourselves, it'll be faster than if we get it delivered." Putting an arm  
around his boss, Pacey continued his monologue without even stopping to breathe.  
"Stan, how do you feel about mushrooms on pizza..."

Dawson chuckled to himself as he watched his friend hustle his boss out the door, then  
turned to the task at hand.

*****

Jen walked up to the window of the video store and peeked inside, wanting to come by  
and apologize to Dawson for not being able to go on the picnic. [Strange,] she thought,  
[Stan doesn't usually leave the store without someone up front.] Moving to open the  
door, she found it not exactly locked, but closer to...jammed shut. [Hmmm,] she  
thought, [Maybe he had to go to get someone to fix the door.]

Jen sighed as she tried the door again. It barely moved. "Oh well," she commented to  
no one in particular, "I'll just come back later."

*****

Dawson smiled as he watched Pacey and Stan return with the pizza. Initialing the last  
of the inventory sheets, he looked up and greeted the two men, "Hey guys! What took  
you so long?"

[What took us so long?] thought Stan. "We just got the-"

"Pizza? Great! I'm starved." Dawson picked up a slice and bit into it gratefully. He  
felt like he could eat all of Italy.

Stan sighed as Dawson grabbed the pizza box out of his hands without a second thought.  
[Teenagers. Good thing I don't have any of my -own-. If I had to deal with more than  
these two I don't know what I'd do.] After he grabbed a slice for himself, Stan told  
Dawson and Pacey, "All right, let's get started..."

Dropping his nametag down on the counter, Dawson told his boss, "Oh, the inventory?  
That's all done." Grabbing the pizza box, he then turned to his friend as he added,  
"C'mon Pace, let's get out of here. Thanks for the pizza, Stan!"

Pacey glanced back to see the completely shocked look on Stan's face as he went through  
the detailed, thoroughly completed, dated and signed inventory report. That -alone- was  
worth the fact that Dawson was about to finish the last of the pizza before he got any.

Yep, he could definitely get used to this...

*****

Joey watched, amazed, as Dawson finished off the last of the large popcorn. Leaning in  
so she didn't disturb the people who were actually -interested- in the movie, she  
whispered, "Hey, didn't you guys have to do inventory tonight?"

Not taking his eyes off the screen, Dawson nodded and smiled. "I took care of it."

[But Stan's inventory usually takes all night, doesn't it?] thought Joey. Her eyes widened  
as she realized exactly how Dawson 'took care of it'. Her voice rose slightly as she  
exclaimed, "Dawson, have you lost your mind?!"

"SHHHHHH!" erupted the voices from the row behind them.

Joey blushed, embarrassed, as Dawson glared at the older couple behind them. Leaning  
in closer he whispered, "What's the big deal, Jo? The doctor said I was fine. Maybe I  
should just get used to being able to doing things like this."

Joey glanced down at the empty popcorn tub at their feet. Usually the two of them  
combined could barely finish a medium by the end of a movie, especially a good one.  
But tonight Dawson polished off an extra large tub of popcorn by -himself-. And the  
movie wasn't even half over. "Well, then what do -you- call this change in your  
appetite, Dawson? Eating for three?"

Dawson started to roll his eyes, but then he realized that Joey was right. He had been  
eating like there was no tomorrow - first the pizza, then the popcorn. And he was still  
hungry. Before he could say anything, though, Joey continued, "And if you start getting  
used to being able to doing 'things like this', one day you'll slip up in a -very- -public-  
place. I don't want to see you ending up as someone's science experiment."

"SHHHHHH!" erupted the voices from the row behind them once again.

[Well, no sense in arguing with -them-,] thought Dawson. Even if the movie could just  
as easily have been a good three-part episode of the show. Still, though, he appreciated  
Joey's concern for him. Leaning in close so that there would be -no- way for the row  
behind them to hear, Dawson whispered in Joey's ear, "I promise I'll be careful, Jo."

Joey relaxed, as she always did, at the feeling of having Dawson so close to her. It didn't  
mean that she would worry any less about him, though. "You'd better be, Dawson.  
You'd better be."

*****

The four friends were some of the last to leave the theatre. The beautiful day had turned  
into an equally warm, beautiful evening - a perfect night for a stroll. So Dawson, Pacey,  
Joey and Andie walked quietly down the street, listening to the chirping of crickets and  
the quiet hum of the conversations around them.

Out of the corner of her eye, Joey watched Dawson as he walked half on the sidewalk  
and half on the street. [My hero,] she sighed, then corrected herself, [no-my -  
superhero-.] If Dawson had told her yesterday he could run faster than the speed of  
light, she would have laughed, thinking he had gotten too caught up in some movie  
script he was working on. And yet she had seen him do it. Twice.

Funny thing was, even though her view of the world had been turned completely upside  
down, what was consuming her thoughts at that moment? Dawson. She wondered what  
was going through his mind right then. Was he thinking about the homework he had to  
finish before school on Monday? Was he, as she was, marveling over all the changes  
that had occurred in his life in the short span of twelve hours? For the first time in as  
long as she could remember, Joey had absolutely no idea what Dawson Leery was  
thinking. And she liked the way that felt. Dawson turned his head slightly, catching  
Joey in a wistful smile. He smiled back at her in return, which set her heart racing in a  
way it hadn't done in months.

Neither of them heard the roar of the approaching car until it was almost too late.

At the first sound of squealing tires Dawson stopped, turning around to see the huge old  
car gunning its engines as it came down the street, already moving dangerously fast.  
Pacey and Andie had been walking down the middle of the street, enjoying the quiet  
night themselves. Unfortunately, this now put them in the path of the oncoming car.  
Pacey was already trying to get Andie out of the car's path, but fear had frozen her to the  
spot. As Dawson watched, he realized that if he didn't move, there was no way Andie  
was going to get away in time -

*WHOOSH*

Joey knew by the gust of wind that pulled her hair forward what Dawson's reaction had  
been to the situation. Dawson ran the width of the street, tackling Pacey and Andie and  
moving them safely across the street less than half a second before the speeding car  
would have killed them all. Joey turned her head to watch the never-slowing car as it  
sped out of town. [No license plate. Figures...] Shaking her head in frustration, Joey  
raced across the street to where her friends had collapsed. She knelt down next to Pacey  
and Andie first, who were just starting to sit up. Concerned, she asked, "Are you guys  
all right?"

Both Andie and Pacey nodded. Pacey answered, "We're fine, Joey. Just a little shook  
up."

Their mutual concern for Dawson seemed to activate almost at the same time. Joey  
turned and knelt at Dawson's side. Only now was her friend starting to come around,  
and the pain on his face was evident. "Dawson?" she asked, "What happened?"

"My ankle," he replied, gritting the words out through clenched teeth, "I think I twisted  
it."

Pacey and Andie had made it over to the other side of their friend by this point as Joey  
asked, "Can you put any weight on it?"

Dawson pulled himself to a sitting position on the nearby curb. Hesitantly, he tested the  
ankle by trying to stand up. Twice he attempted, and twice he failed, grunting as the  
pain shot up through his leg each time. Finally he conceded, "I don't think so."

Joey and Pacey looked at each other and sighed. Turning to Dawson, Pacey insisted,  
"All right, we're going to find a way to get you to your Dad's, okay?" Then turning back  
to Joey, he ordered, "We'll help him get up on three. One...two...three."

On three, Joey and Pacey each grabbed one of Dawson's arms, hoisting him up so that  
he was standing on one foot, his weak leg leaning on Joey for support. Snaking an arm  
around Dawson's waist to give him better balance, Joey leaned up at her old friend and  
smiled. "Anything to get your arm around me, eh Dawson?"

Fighting back the pain, Dawson returned her smile as he quipped, "Maybe I've just been  
hanging around Pacey too long. Shall we?"

As Joey and Dawson started hobbling down the street, Pacey and Andie following  
behind them, Joey prayed that no one had been watching closely enough to see or believe  
what had happened.

But someone -had- been watching, and that person was soon running home himself,  
hoping against hope that the curse of his abilities had not been passed down to his son...


	3. Chapter 3

Parked on a deserted road just on the outskirts of town, the driver of the car pulled out a  
cell phone and dialed his employer. "Yeah, boss...he's the one, boss, just like you said  
he would be...Yeah, boss...Yeah, boss..." The man on the phone smiled wickedly. "He  
won't even know what hit him, boss...you got it. See you tomorrow."

*****

Dawson woke up to the smell of freshly scrambled eggs and bacon. He looked over at  
the clock next to the fold-out bed he was sleeping on.

7:30 a.m.

Groaning, Dawson pushed the pillow over his head in an attempt to block out the light,  
noise, and smells. It was Saturday-he shouldn't be up this early. Granted, Dawson  
knew his Dad liked to run in the mornings, but the teen usually could sleep through  
anything, including his father's fumbling around in the kitchen. So, Dawson wondered,  
why was he up so early-without an alarm waking him up?

The events of the previous day started to come back to his waking mind. Maybe this  
was one of those things he was just going to have to get used to. [Well, one thing's for  
sure,] he thought, [at least all nighters will be a little easier to deal with...]

Throwing the pillow away from his face, Dawson sat up, squinting as his eyes adjusted  
to the bright morning light. Turning around, Dawson saw his Dad, as he had guessed,  
hard at work in the kitchen. The rumblings in Dawson's stomach reminded him that he  
was hungry, and he pulled himself out of bed, hoping to get a couple of pieces of that  
bacon.

Mitch watched his son's attempts to wake up with some amusement. If everything he  
had seen and heard the day before was correct, then Dawson was completely awake - he  
just didn't want to be. He called out to his son, "Good morning, Dawson."

"Morning, Dad," Dawson replied, mumbling his first words of the day. Tossing aside  
the covers, Dawson swung his legs off the side of the bed and stood up.

Mitch suggested, "Why don't you take a shower? Breakfast will be ready in a minute."

[Shower? Sounds good.] Dawson agreed, "Okay, Dad," and made his way down the  
hall to the bathroom. Rubbing his chin as he showered, Dawson realized he needed to  
shave. Badly. Grabbing the shaving cream out of the medicine cabinet, Dawson idly  
wondered why his Dad wouldn't ante up the thirty bucks to buy an electric razor. [Then  
again,] Dawson realized, [It's not like I've ever seen him cut himself shaving...]

"*OUCH!*" [Like I just did.] Leaning in toward the mirror to examine the damage,  
Dawson wiped the blood away from his face-only to reveal clean, undamaged skin  
underneath. The cut had healed completely in a fraction of a second.

"Dawson? You okay?"

Mitch's call snapped Dawson's attention away from the mirror. "I'm fine, Dad," he  
replied, "I just cut myself shaving." Dawson then winced as he realized he shouldn't  
have said anything about it. How was he going to fake cutting himself shaving?

"All right, then."

Dawson quickly finished shaving, then scanned the room for some Band-Aids. Finding  
the box, he pulled out a tiny bandage. Realizing that it needed to have some blood on it  
to be convincing, Dawson sliced the tip of his index finger with the razor, then let the  
blood soak through the pad of the bandage. Carefully applying it to his chin, Dawson  
almost smiled at his handiwork, then gathered up his things to go back into the living  
room.

Mitch looked up from pouring the orange juice and noticed the Band-Aid on his son's  
chin. [Maybe I'm jumping to the wrong conclusions,] he thought. The pop of the toaster  
shook Mitch away from those thoughts, and he called to his son, "Dawson! Breakfast is  
ready!"

Dawson had just pulled a T-shirt over his head, so he left the rest of his things over on  
the bed and made his way to the kitchen. Dawson's eyes widened at the amount of food  
that his father had made for just the two of them. [I don't think I've seen Bodie make  
this many eggs at the Icehouse...] "Someone coming over for breakfast, Dad?"

Trying to phrase his response as carefully as he could, Mitch shrugged and replied, "Just  
had a feeling you might be hungry, that's all."

Sitting down, Dawson gratefully replied, "I am, Dad. Thanks." [I will not eat more  
than I did yesterday, I will not eat more than I did yesterday...]

Half an hour later, Dawson realized exactly how much he -had- eaten. [Oh man! How  
am I going to explain this one?] Maybe he could use that 'I'm a growing boy' excuse. It  
always worked in the movies. "Uh, Dad..."

Mitch didn't know whether to smile or start cursing under his breath. The stories he had  
heard were one thing. But between what he had seen last night and this... "Dawson, do  
me a favor."

Dawson was confused. "What?"

"Take off that bandage on your chin."

Obediently, Dawson complied. Getting up from the table, Mitch knelt down beside his  
son to examine the spot where the bandage had been. Not a mark.

Dawson searched his mind, trying to come up with a reasonable explanation. "Dad, I  
can explain this, really..."

Now Mitch -did- smile. Folding the Band-Aid carefully, he calmly told his son,  
"Dawson, if there's one person you don't need to explain this to, it's me." Looking down  
at his son's feet, Mitch then caught a glimpse of Dawson's ankle. From what he had  
seen the night before, Dawson should have been hobbling, or at least walking with a  
limp-if he were able to walk at all. "How's your ankle?"

Dawson stared at his father in confusion. [My ankle?] "It's fine, Dad-" He then  
remembered the car. Pushing Pacey and Andie out of the way, twisting his ankle on the  
way down. Joey had helped him all the way to the elevator of his Dad's building, where  
he used the wall to limp and hop to his Dad's front door and fall asleep on the couch.  
But when he woke up today, the ankle felt as if nothing had happened. [How did -Dad-  
know to ask about my ankle?] "Why do you ask?"

Mitch felt the distinct need to do something, so he stood up, piled Dawson's plates on  
top of his own, and carried them to the sink. As he walked between the table and the  
sink he explained, "I heard from a friend of mine that you guys were at the park  
yesterday."

[He knows we cut school,] thought Dawson. "Dad, I can explain-"

Mitch cut Dawson off before he could finish his 'explanation'. "This isn't about you  
cutting classes, Dawson. This is about Joey and Alec."

The mention of the little boy's name knocked the wind out of Dawson's sails. He was  
speechless. His friends wouldn't have said anything, not to his father. Dawson paled  
even further as he realized that his dad's friend must have been that young boy's father.

Seeing the expression on Dawson's face, Mitch figured he'd better continue before  
Dawson passed out on him. Turning away from the sink, he continued to explain, "I  
would have passed that off as something Dominic had imagined, except for a phone call  
I got from Doc Mitchell later yesterday afternoon."

Dawson was reeling. "So much for doctor-patient confidentiality..." he mumbled.

Not hearing Dawson's reaction, Mitch simply continued, "He told me enough for me to  
begin to wonder if something was going on." Turning around, Mitch knew he needed to  
look Dawson in the eye when he said what he needed to say next. "So I followed you to  
the movies last night."

Dawson's eyes went wide. [That's how he knew about the ankle...]

Walking closer to his son, slowly, Mitch continued, "Dawson, I saw you push

Pacey and Andie out of the way of that car..."

Instantly, Dawson's expression turned from one of shock to one of fury. [That's why he's  
been treating me with kid gloves today. He just found out his son's a -freak-, and he's  
feeling sorry for me...] The last thing Dawson wanted from -anyone- was pity, and the  
look on his father's face, Dawson could tell, was -full- of that. The younger man felt the  
distinct need to get away. Quickly. Jumping up, Dawson ran at full speed toward the  
front door...

...only to have his Dad intercept him. [No one else has been able to see me, let alone  
stop me! So how-?] Testing out the theory that had just barely begun to form in the  
back of his mind, Dawson ran to the window-and was blocked by his father. To the  
bedroom door - and was blocked again. To the bathroom door - blocked. Back to the  
front door - blocked again. Stunned, Dawson stumbled to the couch and sat down. [My  
God...]

As Mitch sat down on the couch, Dawson looked again at his father, and realized that  
the look on his face wasn't pity, or fear. It was understanding. Quietly, Mitch admitted,  
"Dawson, your-" he waved his hand in the air to illustrate that he didn't quite have a  
word to describe what they were experiencing, "abilities, powers, whatever you want to  
call them - they're genetic. You inherited them from me."

Dawson sat back on the couch, trying to absorb everything he had just seen, heard, and  
experienced. "The speed, the healing, the appetite - I got all of it from -you-?"

Mitch nodded, turning away from his son. This was the part that was going to be the  
hardest to explain. "I wasn't always Mitch Leery, Dawson. I was born Barry Allen. My  
father was a cop..."

*****

If it wasn't for the fact that he shared his father's abilities - a fact that Dawson had seen  
first-hand - he would have sworn his father had gone off the deep end. "So, let me get  
this straight. You worked as a forensic scientist during the day, and at night you would  
run around as this Flash person catching bad guys?" Mitch nodded, and Dawson  
continued. "And the only person who knew who you were was this scientist Tina  
McGee?" Mitch nodded again. "So why'd you move to Capeside and change your  
name?"

A tortured look passed across Mitch's features. Even after twenty-five years, the wound  
still hurt. "A co-worker of Tina's had grown obsessed with her over the years, and  
began stalking her. He thought that the only way he could get to be with Tina was to  
destroy the people she was closest to-me and the Flash. First he bombed the house my  
parents lived in. Then, finally, he kidnapped me. He wanted an exchange - me for the  
Flash."

Dawson went wide-eyed. "But that's impossible!"

"True," agreed Mitch. "But he didn't know that, and he kept me pumped full of too  
many drugs for me to be able to tell him. So, after Tina heard the demands, she went to  
my best friend Julio and together they tried to figure out a way to rescue me."

"So what happened?"

"The guy blew up the building when he realized he wasn't going to get what he wanted -  
killing the Flash. The funny thing was, he almost did. I was in a coma for four months  
while my body healed from the injuries."

"And Tina and Julio?"

Another pained expression crossed Mitch's face, and he turned away from his son, the  
old guilt keeping him from being able to look -anyone- in the eye when he admitted to  
this. "They didn't make it. And without them in my life, I didn't see a need to be in  
Central City anymore."

"The Flash kinda died with them, huh?"

The sadness seemed etched in the lines on Mitch's face as he nodded. "I cashed in my  
pension, bought a bus ticket to Capeside, and changed my name to Mitch Leery."  
Finally allowing himself to smile, he continued, "I met your mother about six months  
later."

One question came to mind. "Does Mom know about this? About you?"

Mitch shook his head. "I haven't had any reason to be The Flash since I left Central  
City. There wasn't a need to tell her."

Dawson raised a curious eyebrow as he asked, "Mom doesn't know? But from what you  
told me, Doc Mitchell knew exactly what to look for..."

"Doc Mitchell was the doctor who treated me after Tina's death. He was on staff in the  
ER when I was brought in, and ended up finding out about me when he ran blood tests."  
Mitch smiled at the one positive memory that came out of that dark time in his life. "I  
kinda became an obsession with him after that - for about a month or so he even gave  
up the rest of his practice to do research on my 'condition' while I was still in a coma. It  
didn't take him long to figure out I was The Flash."

"So how'd he end up in Capeside?"

Mitch took a sip from his water before he continued, "When I woke up from that coma, I  
had no one left. Everyone I was close to was gone - everyone who knew I was the Flash  
was gone, except for Terry."

"Doctor Mitchell?"

Mitch nodded. "I had never felt so alone in my life. Terry recognized that, and worked  
very hard to get through to me. He always reminded me that no matter what, he would  
always be there to look out for me. So, when I told him I was moving to Capeside, he  
packed up his practice and moved right along with me. Told me that, since I had  
refused to be the Flash anymore, he had to make sure that some small-town country  
bumpkin didn't try to sell me to a circus..." Mitch smiled at the memory.

Dawson smiled as well, knowing how important it was to him that his friends has  
simply accepted his new 'powers' without getting all freaked out over them. Mitch then  
continued, "So when I married your mom, Terry wasn't even all that sure I could -have-  
kids..."

"Yeah, how -did- you become The Flash anyway? You didn't inherit your powers from  
Grandpa, I take it?"

Mitch shook his head, smiling. "Completely the opposite. He never found out who the  
Flash was. I was working with some chemicals in the lab when I got struck by  
lightning. Completely did a number on my DNA. I couldn't re-create that accident  
again if you -paid- me..." Noticing that they had gotten off track, Mitch switched gears  
and continued with his earlier story. "Anyway, when your mom became pregnant with -  
you-, he knew the chance of you becoming a 'baby Flash', as he called it, were pretty  
good. The first round of blood tests, though, came out normal. I thought that meant  
you'd just grow up into a regular kid, but Terry insisted that the possibility was still  
there. He kept a note in your file that if anything -unusual- ever started popping up, he'd  
let me know immediately..."

"Which is why you got that call yesterday." Mitch nodded.

Dawson sat back and ran his finger along the rim of the now-empty orange juice glass in  
his hands. "Wow," he mouthed. Out loud he commented, "Sounds like a movie script:  
My Father the Superhero."

Mitch raised an eyebrow at that. "Really? Wouldn't a better title be 'Like Father, Like  
Son?'"

"True. Very true." Dawson smiled, nodding his head in acknowledgment, if not  
agreement. Running his hands through his hair, he asked, "So what happens now? Do  
I need to get fitted for a red suit or something?"

Mitch laughed at the mental image of his son in one of the suits he wore to run around  
Central City as The Flash. "Hardly. Dawson, I became The Flash mostly because I was  
a cop in a major city with a huge crime rate. Being The Flash allowed me to have some  
semblance of a normal life and still make a difference."

Dawson picked up on his father's train of thought immediately. "But if Capeside needed  
a 'Flash', you would have already taken the job."

Mitch nodded, and took a sip from a nearby water bottle. "Dawson, the only thing you  
need to worry about is keeping your powers from becoming public knowledge. It could  
put both our lives in danger if that happened. Not to mention your Mom and your  
friends..."

"I understand." Dawson nodded his agreement, having played the possibilities over a  
hundred times in his head the day before.

Mitch raised a skeptical eyebrow, having witnessed the incident with the car firsthand.  
"Are you -sure- about that, Dawson? It could be harder to do than you think."

"Dad, I -promise-. I'll be discreet."

Mitch was thoroughly unconvinced, but what could he do? It wasn't like Dawson's  
powers were a car that he could take away if his son was an irresponsible driver. This  
was the risk he had decided to take when he and Gail made the decision to have a  
family. So he just needed to trust that Dawson was responsible enough to handle this  
the right way.

Dawson could see the apprehension on his Dad's face. He wished that there was some  
way to reassure him, but, truth be told, he was just as scared of learning to deal with  
these powers as his father was. Still..."At least I don't have to learn to manage this on  
my own."

Mitch smiled as he realized the truth and the trust behind his son's words. That was one  
part of the whole 'superhero gig' that Dawson was never going to have to experience-  
the feeling of being totally alone. Pulling Dawson into a fierce hug, Mitch reiterated his  
son's statement, turning it into his own promise. "You know I'll always be here for you,  
Dawson. Remember that."

"I will, Dad." Pulling away from his father's embrace, Dawson agreed, "Always." The  
clock on the kitchen counter caught the younger man's attention.

10:00 a.m.

They had been talking for almost two straight hours-and Joey was going to be coming  
over any minute. Looking around the apartment, Dawson realized that their little  
'confrontation' earlier had blown quite a bit of trash around the apartment. Combined  
with the fact that he was still in his boxers, Dawson rolled his eyes, muttering in  
frustration about how long it was going to take to get everything done.

Mitch watched Dawson's eyes as they trailed over to the clock, and immediately  
understood what was bothering him. With a knowing smile, he told Dawson, "Go get  
dressed. I'll take care of this mess."

"Are you sure?"

Mitch simply winked in response, and Dawson smiled. He had a feeling he knew  
exactly what his dad was planning. "Well," sighed Dawson, "I guess I better get out of  
here before the tornado knocks me over..."

In an instant, Dawson had grabbed his clothes and disappeared into his father's room.  
Getting dressed quickly, he relaxed and buttoned his shirt while peeking curiously in his  
father's closet. There it was, behind the old suits and the tuxedo that was still in its  
garment bag...Dawson chuckled lightly as he fingered the unusual red material. "And  
here I always thought it was just an old Halloween costume..."


	4. Chapter 4

Joey knocked on the door for a third time, and wondered idly if Dawson and his father  
were even awake yet. When a powerful blast of air shot out at her feet from the crack in  
the door, Joey glared at the door as if it were Dawson actually standing there. Did  
Dawson actually -tell- his father about what had happened? In her mind, too many  
people knew about it already, and the way Dawson was flaunting his powers was getting  
risky.

She was tempted to turn around and leave when Mitch opened the door, smiling. "Hi  
Joey! C'mon in."

Joey blinked in confusion, expecting to see Dawson open the door. Shrugging it off, she  
realized it was her turn to say something. "Hi, Mr. Leery. Dawson told me to meet him  
here this morning..."

"Hi Jo!" called Dawson's voice from his father's bedroom. "I'll be out in a minute."

"Okay," she called back in response. Dawson was in the -bedroom- getting dressed?  
Then what was-

"So, Joey, what are your plans for today?"

Mitch's question interrupted Joey's train of thought. She replied, a little too abruptly,  
"Babysitting. Yeah, Alex's sitter has the flu, so Bessie needs me to stay and watch the  
baby while they're at work. I asked Dawson to come help out."

"Oh." Mitch nodded. [Sounds reasonable enough...]

The silence was tense and uncomfortable for the few moments before Dawson came into  
the room, buttoning the sleeves of his shirt. He had to resist the urge to smile when he  
realized that his father had totally cleaned the apartment - including the dishes - while  
he was getting dressed. "Hey Jo," greeted Dawson, "Ready for a few adventures in  
babysitting?"

"I am if you are," replied Joey. It was then that Joey noticed Dawson -walked- into the  
room. No limping, no hobbling, and, as the shorts he wore clearly indicated - not even a  
bruise. Joey was dumbfounded. "How-?"

Mitch cut her off before Joey had a chance she didn't need to be asking with him around.  
"Wow, look at the time! You two kids better go - Bodie can't be late for that lunch  
crowd, after all."

Dawson caught on immediately. Sometimes it was a huge help to be able to understand  
exactly what was going through his father's -and- his best friend's minds at the same  
time. "You know, Dad, you're absolutely right." Turning to Joey, he continued without  
missing a beat, "C'mon Jo, let's get out of here. Bye, Dad!"

And in less time than it took for Mitch Leery to answer the door, Joey was in the  
apartment, had her life turned 'round - again - and was back out of the apartment and on  
her way home.

*****

Dawson stopped the tape, grateful for the switch to the silent blue screen and not some  
blaring television channel. Setting the tape to rewind, he craned his neck to peer into  
the baby's crib behind him. Finally, after the second round of The Lion King, Alex had  
fallen asleep.

And if the relaxed weight against his shoulder was any indication, then Aunt Joey had  
fallen asleep as well. Setting down the remote control beside him, Dawson brushed a  
stray hair away from Joey's face and tucked it behind her ear. The young woman next to  
him stirred slightly, but did not wake up. God, but she was beautiful. It was a fact that  
he had been painfully aware of ever since that night at the Miss Windjammer pageant,  
and it never ceased to amaze him how often that particular piece of reality would walk  
up and slap him in the face at the most inopportune times. Like in the middle of class.  
Or when they were hanging out with Pacey, or Andie, or Jen.

Or right now.

Part of him still didn't understand why they couldn't be together. I mean sure, they had  
their differences, but what couple didn't? At first, he thought it was Jack that had  
broken them up, but she and Jack hadn't seen each other in a couple of months. So what  
was it? The fact that he didn't like taking art classes as much as she did...

Dawson leaned his head back and closed his eyes, wincing as he realized what the  
problem was. He had belittled her interest in art - not making even the vaguest of  
attempts to understand why it was so important to her. And yet, when he turned around  
and developed superpowers almost overnight, she accepted this new part of his life right  
away and went to work on helping him deal with it. While Dawson talked about how  
much he loved and respected her, Joey proved it every day in her actions. "God," he  
whispered, "How could I be so slow?"

"Oh, that's probably about the last thing I would call you," commented a deep voice  
standing over him.

Eyes snapping open, Dawson looked up to see two men standing in front of the  
television - one of whom was pointing a gun at Joey's head. Dawson tensed, getting  
himself ready to either go after whoever these guys were or to get himself and Joey out  
of danger, when the man who wasn't holding the gun stopped him. "Ah, ah, ah, I  
wouldn't do that, Mr. Leery. You may be fast, but are you -that- sure that you get your  
little friend here out of the way of a speeding bullet?"

Dawson forced himself to keep cool even as his mind was racing. These guys wanted to  
-kill- them! Joey mumbled something incoherently, but didn't awaken, and Dawson  
almost sighed with relief. For -once-, Joey was sound asleep. Looking up at the two  
men, Dawson offered cautiously, "Look, I don't know what you guys want, but  
whatever's here in the house, you can just go ahead and take it-"

The man without the gun smiled as he replied in a clipped British accent. "That's  
excellent, Mr. Leary. Because what we want is for you to come with us." The man with  
the gun released the safety-his aim never leaving Joey's head.

Carefully shifting himself so that he could get out from under Joey's weight without  
waking her, Dawson then turned to the two men and slowly raised his arms over his  
head. The man with the gun never let his aim waiver as the two men pushed Dawson  
out the door. Finally, as the door closed, Dawson turned to his captors as the man  
without the weapon declared, "Well now, since we can't be letting you get away..."

The last sound Dawson heard was the dull thud of the butt of the gun hitting the back of  
his head before blackness consumed him.

*****

The Capeside Chronicle Classifieds department was bustling with activity by the time  
Mitch walked in. Between trying to sell the things that didn't fit in his new apartment  
and trying to get his restaurant business finally off the ground, he had become a regular  
customer, as Marcie's enthusiastic greeting attested to, even while she was on the phone.  
"Hi Mitch! Have a seat, sweetie, and I'll be with you in just a second."

Instead of sitting, though, Mitch stood at the counter, listening as Marcie patiently took  
down the apparently explicit instructions of the person on the phone. "Yes, Sir...yes,  
Sir...We'll do our best, Sir..." The voice of the man on the other end of the line  
increased in volume, and Marcie had to hold the phone away from her ear to keep  
herself from going deaf. Making eye contact with Mitch, she rolled her eyes as she put  
the receiver back up to her ear. "Yes, Sir, I'll make absolutely certain this goes in the  
evening edition...Thank you, Sir."

Marcie sighed as she hung up the phone. "Stupid customers...you'd think that ad was a  
matter of life or death or something..."

Having dealt with a lot of disgruntled people himself, Mitch could sympathize. "What  
was the ad for, Marcie?"

"Hmmm?" Marcie looked up and saw Mitch standing next to her at the counter. "Oh! I  
forgot you were still there." As she filled out the formal paperwork for a rush as, Marcie  
told him, "That was the funny part...the guy wanted to take out a quarter-page ad, but all  
it would say is, 'To the Flash - we have your protege. Come to the docks by ten tonight  
or be prepared for fireworks you'll never forget.' Strange, huh? Some guy making  
vague threats about a car..."

Marcie looked up, surprised to see that Mitch had disappeared. [Hmmm...something  
must have come up,] she thought, [Oh well, guess he'll come back later.] Finishing the  
paperwork, she turned around and called to the copy boy in the back, "Hey, Dusty! I got  
a rush job for ya!"

*****

The jingle of bells alerted Pacey to the presence of a customer. Looking up, he saw that  
it was Andie and Joey. He smiled, turning a page in the paper as they came up to him.  
"Hey sweetie!"

"Hey, yourself," replied Andie, kissing Pacey softly in greeting. Pacey then turned his  
attention to his old friend, who was looking decidedly uncomfortable. "Hey Jo, how's it  
going? I thought you were going to be spending time with our fast friend today?"

"So did I," she muttered. It was going to take a -long- time for her to forgive Dawson  
for running out on her. One moment, he was the perfect gentlemen, not minding a bit  
watching The Lion King for the second time under Joey's assurances that it would put  
Alex to sleep. She had no idea that it would put her to sleep as well, though, and when she woke up, he was gone. "I don't know what happened, guys. One minute he was there and the next he split."

Pacey shrugged. "Maybe he just remembered something he needed to do."

"Yeah maybe." Joey wasn't buying it, though. Letting her mind idle and her eyes  
wander, a strange ad in the paper caught Joey's attention. "What's this, guys?"

Curious, Andie asked, "What's what?"

Following the line of Joey's gaze, Pacey, too, noticed the ad. He read aloud, "'To the  
Flash - we have your protege. Come to the docks by ten tonight or be prepared for  
fireworks you'll never forget.' Wonder what that's about?"

"Yeah," added Joey, "And who's this Flash character?"

"The Flash?" chimed in a voice behind them. None of them had heard Jen enter the  
store, but the entire group looked up when she entered the conversation.

Pacey asked, "You know the guy this ad's talking about?"

Jen shrugged. "Only by reputation. I heard about him all the time in New York. He  
was some Lone Ranger-type that ran around Central City catching bad guys. People  
used to say that he moved so fast that he was in and out of a place in a flash - that's how  
he got his nickname, I guess..."

As Jen's voice trailed off, Joey, Pacey, and Andie's eyes widened, each one sharing the  
same train of thought. [In and out in a -flash-? Maybe they think Dawson is this guy  
The Flash's 'protege'. That means...] "Oh God," Joey whispered, "Someone's kidnapped  
him, haven't they?"

Looking up into the eyes of her friends, Joey could tell that they had all been thinking  
the same thing. Pulling off his name tag, Pacey called to the back office, "Stan?"

A disembodied voice called from the back, "Yeah, Pace?"

"A family emergency's come up. Can I have the night off?"

Stan walked up to the front to see three very pale-faced teens and a fourth simply looking confused. "Pacey? What happened?"

Pulling together the paper, Pacey replied, "I really can't say, Stan. All I can tell you is  
that it's a matter of life and death, and I need the night off to take care of it. Is that  
okay?"

Stan would have sworn that Pacey was kidding, but the look on the other two girls' faces  
made him think otherwise. Putting down the book near the counter, Stan picked up  
Pacey's nametag and shoved it in the drawer. "Go on," he replied, "Get outta here."

Pacey's mood seemed to brighten, but only slightly. Whatever this was -had- to be big.  
"Thanks, Stan," he replied. "C'mon, let's go. We gotta get to the docks."

Stan and Jen only watched in confusion as Pacey, Joey and Andie practically ran out the  
door. Stan was the first to comment. "Wonder what that was about?"

Jen shrugged, "Beats the heck outta me."

After a few moments of thoughtful silence, Stan shrugged off all thoughts of confused  
teenagers for the night, and turned to his customer. "So what can I help you with  
tonight, my dear?"

*****

Only the small patterns of light that danced across the floor gave Dawson any indication  
that he had regained consciousness. It didn't take long for him to remember what  
happened. Dawson noticed that his hands and feet had been bound with thick rope-  
tightly, if the lack of circulation to his hands was any indication. He worked with all the  
speed he could muster to try and loosen the ropes, but the friction caused the ropes to  
smoke and heat up, burning his wrists. Stopping, the moans of pain he let out echoed  
throughout the large room.

When his head fell forward, though, Dawson realized that while his hands and feet were  
tied, he was not tied to the chair itself. Perhaps, if he moved carefully enough, he could  
pull himself away from the chair and hop out of here...

"I wouldn't do that if I were you, dear boy. After all, that platform is rigged to a highly  
sensitive detonation device. If you move even one millimeter past your specified safe  
zone, this entire warehouse is rigged to explode. Then we'll see how fast you -really-  
are."

Dawson forced his head up to look at the two men who approached him, their floating  
white heads and the clip-clop of their shoes the only indications of their existence in this  
darkness. Finding his voice, Dawson was able to ask, "Who are you?"

"Oh, come, come, my boy, who I am isn't important. What's important here is who you  
are. Or more importantly, -what- you are."

Dawson nearly choked on his laughter. "You don't -really- think I'm The Flash, do  
you?"

Now the other man joined him with his own laughter. "Of course not, dear boy, of  
course not." The man's tone just as quickly turned serious, though, as he moved closer  
to Dawson. The faint light in the room reflected off the shock of gray in his hair as he  
leaned down and stated simply, "But you -are- connected to him in some way, of that  
much we -are- sure. Whether you're a nephew, a student..." The man nodded  
knowingly as he continued, "or a son, it doesn't matter. What -does- matter is that when  
he knows you're missing, he'll come running, and we'll be waiting for him."

"And if he doesn't?"

The man smiled, then clicked off a small device in his hand as he moved closer to  
Dawson. Leaning down, Dawson could feel the man's breath in his ear as he whispered,  
"Well then...BOOM!"

Dawson jumped in reaction to the loud noise in his ear, a response which seemed to be  
quite amusing to his captors. Patting him on the shoulder, the man laughed, pressing  
the button to re-activate the device as he walked away. Furious, Dawson didn't let the  
rage come out in his voice. Instead, he simply asked, "So how do I know that there's  
really a bomb under here?"

As the two men turned around, the gray-haired man asked him, "Do you -really- want to  
take that chance?"

The two men didn't give him the satisfaction of a response as they walked away.

*****

The darkness of the room and the fact that it was night outside gave Dawson no ability  
to discern the passage of time, so it felt like an eternity between the departure of his  
captors and the sounds of someone just outside the walls of the old warehouse. Not  
wanting to give his captors the satisfaction of hearing him cry out, Dawson simply sat in  
silence and listened as the group outside the warehouse crept the length of one of the  
walls, apparently trying to scope out the location. Dawson jumped as one of the  
members of the group apparently banged against something metal, and a familiar voice  
cried out in pain, followed by two other familiar voices shushing her. It was Joey, Andie  
and Pacey. His friends had found him.

Dawson relaxed for a moment, until he realized the -other- danger that lay in this room.  
The bomb, if there was one, would be activated if anyone got too close to him. Even if  
he were willing to take the risk with his own life, he was not about to take that chance  
with the lives of his friends. So his first reaction to his friend's entrance into the  
warehouse was a warning instead of a greeting. "Don't come any closer, guys! There  
may be a bomb under here."

Pacey was the first one to speak, in a voice not much louder than a harsh whisper. "A  
bomb?"

Aware of the small shaft of light illuminating the space near his chair, Dawson nodded,  
trusting his friends would see it. "It'll detonate if I try to escape or if anyone gets too  
close."

Andie asked, "Then they have to have a way to shut it off and on, don't they?"

Dawson nodded again. "There's a guy wearing a black trenchcoat. He has one long  
streak of gray hair and speaks in a British accent. He's carrying a device with him that  
deactivates the bomb."

[Well, well, well,] Pacey thought, [looks like my history of delinquent behavior will  
finally be put to good use.] Out loud he whispered to Dawson, "Don't worry, we'll find  
them."

Dawson knew exactly what his old friend was planning. "Be careful!" he warned.

"Don't worry," replied Joey, "We will."

As the three friends turned to leave, Dawson gave them his second warning. "This guy  
walks around with another guy who carries a gun. Watch out for him!"

Not turning around, Pacey rolled his eyes. [Oh, sure Dawson, -now- you tell me...]

The minute Pacey, Joey and Andie were far enough away that Dawson couldn't hear  
them, though, the girls let him have it. "Pacey, have you finally lost your mind?" asked  
Joey. "How are we going to get that detonator away from two men, at least one of whom  
is probably heavily armed?"

To their surprise, Pacey simply smiled. "Ladies, Ladies," he replied, "between us we  
have two of the finest actresses and one of the greatest thieves in all of Capeside. I'm  
sure we can think of -something-..."


	5. Chapter 5

"If we don't all get killed trying to pull off this little stunt, then -I'm- going to kill him."

"Not if I get my hands on him first."

"That's true. After all, he is -your- boyfriend..."

"Yeah, yeah, don't remind me..."

"Where -did- he get this stuff, anyway?"

"Joey, I don't think I want to know..."

"For your information, -ladies-, the outfits are courtesy of Deputy Doug. And if I could  
get -these- out of evidence lockup, getting the detonator away from Mr. Big Bad  
Kidnapper shouldn't be a problem."

Joey and Andie rolled their eyes in unison at Pacey's declaration of his own self-  
confidence. While their partner-in-crime continued to be dressed in all black, in order  
to be 'inconspicuous', the two women had been forced to change into thigh high  
stockings, three-inch spiked heels, skin-tight satin dresses, falsies, and huge fake wigs.  
Pacey whistled in appreciation of his own handiwork. "I have to admit, though, I am  
surprised how quickly you two were able to get so -well- dressed -up-..."

The looks Joey and Andie flashed Pacey could have stopped even Dawson in his tracks.  
Quietly, Pacey switched gears and focused on the business at hand. "So do you think  
you can handle distracting Mutt and Jeff over there?"

Andie simply replied by flashing a smile that could tempt the Pope to sin. "You just  
leave that to us, sugar."

From the seductive tone in Andie's voice, Pacey was suddenly glad he was standing -  
behind- the two women. It was the only thing that allowed him to refocus on his end of  
the mission so quickly. "Well, don't forget I'll be waiting for your signal."

Now it was Joey's turn to crank up the seductive charm. "We'll be ready, Pacey. But  
will you?"

Pacey had to swallow hard to force down the lump in his throat. [How did Dawson ever  
let her get -away-? When we get out of this, he and I are going to have to have a little  
talk...] Pacey forced down his hormones and focused once again on the mission. "Good  
luck, ladies."

As Pacey crept away, Joey and Andie whispered back, "You too, Pace."

"Hey boss?"

Marcus Thompson looked up from his newspaper with disdain, "Yes, Harry?"

"Looks like we got company."

Marcus turned to his hired gun, prepared to figure out some sort of intellectual retort,  
when he spotted the two women out of the corner of his eye. He shouldn't have been  
surprised. After all, if there were any neighborhoods that prostitutes would walk in this  
rinky-dink little town, this would be it. Trying to let as much annoyance as possible  
show up in his voice, he greeted the two intruders, "Is there -something- we can help  
you with, ladies?"

Joey swallowed the lump of fear forming in her throat as she looked over the men Pacey  
told her she had to seduce. [God, I swear, if I make it through this I will -never-  
complain about being in one of Dawson's movies for as long as I live...] Trying to affect  
her best southern drawl, Joey gave Pacey the signal that they were in position and had  
the attention of their targets as she purred, "Actually, we were hoping we could do  
something for you, sugar..."

While Harry smiled appreciatively, Marcus simply rolled his eyes. Who were these two  
kidding? Although the blond had obviously been working the streets for a few years, the  
brunette looked like she was barely out of high school - if she was out of high school at  
all. Marcus insisted, "Look, I don't know what you're trying to pull here, but-"

Andie chimed in at this point, "Hey, mister, who says we're trying to pull anything? Our  
boss simply told us to find two guys on this street corner who seemed to be in need of a  
good time. And baby, you definitely look like you're in need of a good time..." Moving  
closer to Marcus, Andie figured out which side the detonator was on and switched to the  
opposite side, fingering her target's short dark hair and whispering in his ear.

Joey had to fight the urge to laugh as she followed Andie's lead with Harry the hired  
thug. [For someone with so little 'experience', Andie seems to be playing this to the hilt.  
Won't Pacey be surprised...]

In truth, Pacey was too busy trying to lift the detonator from Marcus' free pocket to react  
to Andie's little 'show'. [C'mon, creep, just move a little to the left...]

Finally the opportunity presented itself. Andie had gotten Marcus to remove his jacket  
under the pretense of a backrub. Pacey quickly grabbed the jacket, fumbling through the  
pockets for the detonator. The second he found it, Pacey disappeared into the night,  
leaving the girls to get out of their 'situation' on their own...

Sneaking into the warehouse undetected, Pacey quickly ran over to Dawson, who had  
been working on his ropes during Pacey's little 'production'. Turning off the sensor on  
the bomb, Pacey helped his friend get out of his temporary 'prison'. Standing up and  
rubbing his wrists, Dawson turned to his friend and asked, "Dare I ask what you're  
having Joey and Andie do as a distraction?"

Pacey simply grinned in response. "Trust me, Dawson, you're going to love it."  
Standing up, he then jumped into the arms of his surprised friend. "Shall we go?"

Rolling his eyes, Dawson hoped that Pacey's little plot didn't embarrass Joey too much as  
he dashed out of the warehouse...

...only to find Joey and Andie trying to fend off the advances of both Marcus and Harry,  
who had given up on trying to second-guess the scenario and had instead fallen for it  
hook, line and sinker. Trying to sound as commanding as possible, Dawson put Pacey  
down and ordered the two men, "Let them go. Now!"

The instant both men heard the voice of their supposedly captive young 'Flash', Marcus  
and Harry pulled Andie and Joey tighter to them, each man pulling a gun and resting  
the barrel against the temple of their hostage. It was only at that point that Marcus  
allowed himself to laugh. "Well, well, Mr. Leery, you certainly have resourceful friends.  
Now, which one would you like to save, and which one would you like to see die?"

"I think we'll take them both back, thank you, Marcus."

Keeping Andie in his grasp, Marcus turned around to see his old nemesis, The Flash,  
walking slowly toward him from the shadows. " Now, isn't this interesting?" he replied  
nervously. "Here we are again, twenty-five years later, only this time you decided to  
show. How convenient for you."

Slowly creeping closer to his target, Mitch asked, "Why'd you do it, Thompson? Why'd  
you kill her?"

"Tina?" replied Marcus. "I was in love with that woman for five years! But there was  
only one thing that was important to her - her work. With you. It was eating that  
beautiful woman alive. So I decided she needed a career change."

"That explains why you came after me," commented Mitch, "but why'd you blow up the  
building? You had her where you wanted her."

"But she was still in love with -you-! She always had been. And even if you were gone,  
she probably would have been in love with your stupid 'legend'. So if I couldn't have  
her..."

Even Dawson could finish a line that corny. "Then no one could, Thompson?"

"Well, well," complimented Marcus even as he removed the gun's safety, "You are as  
smart as you look, Mr. Leery. But you shouldn't have involved your friends in this little  
escapade. At least then one of them would have remained alive..."

The world seemed to move in slow motion for Dawson even as his speed carried him.  
Marcus started to squeeze the trigger just as Andie jammed one of her spiked heels  
painfully into his groin. His aim went high, and Marcus was only able to fire one shot  
harmlessly into the air before a lightning-fast Dawson was able to wrestle the gun out of  
his hand. Unable to think of anything but pain, Marcus slumped to the ground in a fetal  
position, letting Andie go in the process.

The noise made by Marcus' gun was able to distract Harry for long enough that Mitch  
was easily able to get the second gun out of the hired thug's hands. When Harry realized  
that he was unarmed against a woman wearing -two- spiked heels, he pushed Joey out of  
the way, not wanting to end up like his boss. A warning shot from Mitch, though, kept  
Harry from going very far. As the thug slowly walked back to the car, Mitch forced the  
two men together. He then asked his son, "Got any of that rope left?"

Dawson nodded, pulling out the rope that bound his feet. A second later, both men were  
tied together not just with the rope, but with nearby electrical cord as well. Standing  
back to admire their handiwork, Mitch complimented his son, "Nice work. Apparently  
you -did- learn something useful in Boy Scouts, after all..."

The younger man glared at his father in response. Then, unable to keep a straight face  
while looking at his father in that ridiculous red costume, Dawson broke down laughing.  
Mitch followed soon after.

As Dawson stood up, Mitch draped an arm around his son's shoulder. "C'mon," he  
suggested, "Let's go see how your friends are doing."

Dawson and 'The Flash' crossed the length of the small parking lot to where Joey, Pacey  
and Andie were sitting on a concrete landing. "Hey guys," asked Dawson, "How're you  
holding up?"

Joey moaned in pain as she took off the heels she was wearing and started to massage  
her aching feet. "Dawson," she replied, "If I -ever- get the urge to wear shoes like this  
again, you have my permission to shoot first and take me out of my misery."

It was only when Joey mentioned something -about- the clothes she was wearing that  
Dawson even took the time to notice them. Stepping back to admire the total picture  
before him, Dawson's jaw dropped in surprise.

Before he could speak, though, Andie leaned in and warned him, "If you say -one- -  
word-, Leery, my other shoe will be finding a nice place to call home, understand?"

Dawson obediently closed his mouth and smiled. "Gotcha. Nooo problem there."

Mitch then complimented Andie, "That kick was a nice move, by the way."

Andie looked up from the attention she was paying to her -own- feet to see the Flash  
standing in front of her. At least, she hoped it was the Flash. Who else would be caught  
dead in a getup like that? "Thanks. Guess all those episodes of La Femme Nikita were  
good for something..." She then looked confused as the group broke down laughing  
around her. "What?"

Catching his breath, Pacey calmed quickly. "Sorry, Andie. I guess I just never pictured  
you as the next Peta Wilson."

Andie had to smile at that. She would have never put herself in Nikita's shoes either-  
until she found herself actually -in- them. "Yeah, same here."

As the rest of the laughter died down, Mitch finally spoke. "But still, you kids could  
have gotten seriously hurt tonight. Next time, you should go to the police before you try  
to handle something like this yourselves..."

This brought a flurry of protests from Dawson's friends. "But the police never would  
have believed us..." "All we had to go on was this cryptic ad to go on and what Jen told us about you..." "We barely knew who you were, and we had no -idea- that you would even see the ad, let alone know who it was talking about or where to show up tonight..."

The last comment silenced everyone, with the same question forming on Pacey, Joey and  
Andie's minds. Pacey was the first one to actually get up the nerve to ask it. "Come to  
think of it, how -did- you see the ad, anyway? I thought Central City was your usual  
stomping grounds."

A moment of unspoken communication passed between Dawson and Mitch. Finally  
Dawson told his father, "You might as well tell them, since they know about me  
anyway..." Mitch sighed, and removed The Flash's head coverings, waiting for the  
reaction he knew was coming.

He wasn't disappointed. Joey, Pacey and Andie all stared at him in wide-eyed, open-  
mouthed shock. Of the many reasons The Flash could have given them as to how he  
had found out that Dawson was in danger, this one didn't even come close. Pacey was  
the first one to actually find a voice to speak with. "Mr. Leery? Is that you?!"

Mitch nodded. "Why don't we take this conversation back to my apartment? It'll give  
you a chance to call your brother and get these guys picked up, Pacey, as well as giving  
the girls the chance to get out of those clothes..."

On that note, Joey and Andie couldn't agree more. Standing up, the two girls hauled  
Pacey to his feet and the group slowly made their way out of the warehouse district.

As they walked, Dawson realized that the overall 'look' of the group - two women in  
hooker's outfits and one large man in a -very- obvious getup - was bound to attract to  
attention. And since he and his father couldn't carry everyone home..."Pacey, if anyone  
asks, how do we explain this?"

All the members of the group looked at each other, coming to the same conclusion at the  
same time.

"A -wild- costume party..."

The actual costume party came a week later at school. Somebody had decided to kick  
off Spring Break with a 'dance on Mount Olympus', and everyone was encouraged to  
come in a costume that represented their favorite Greek god.

Joey pulled up the sleeve of her dress one more time as she knocked on the door to  
Mitch Leery's apartment. Wasn't a woman's date supposed to pick -her- up, not the  
other way around? Standing back as she felt a blast of air from underneath the door,  
Joey sighed. [Sometimes I hate the 90s...]

She was about to knock again, when Mitch Leery opened the door. Smiling, he greeted  
Joey, "C'mon in. Dawson should be ready in a second." Opening the door so that Joey  
could come in to the apartment, Mitch complimented Joey on her costume. "Wow, Joey,  
you look great!" Seeing the bow and arrow, he guessed, "Diana, goddess of the hunt, I  
take it?"

Joey nodded, smiling and dipping into a small curtsey. "I take it you like it?"

"Well it's definitely appropriate," agreed Mitch. "Yes, I like it. And so will Dawson if  
he ever -gets- -himself- -out- -here-..." From the raised volume of Mitch's voice, Joey  
figured that the last part of that sentence was for Dawson's benefit and not her own.

Sure enough, Dawson called out from the other room, "Just a minute, Dad, I'm having  
trouble getting these boots on..."

A few minutes later, Dawson came out of the room and got his first glimpse of Joey.  
With her hair pulled up, and her white dress flowing to her ankles, Dawson had -no-  
trouble believing Joey to be a Greek goddess. Or, for that matter, a goddess of any  
nationality...

Joey smiled as she noticed the stunned look come over Dawson's face. "You don't look  
so bad yourself, Speedy." In truth, she thought, he looked -great-...

Dawson shook himself back into the present long enough to accept her compliment.  
Smiling, he introduced who he was pretending to be. "I'm supposed to be Mercury,  
winged messenger of the gods. What do you think?"

Joey nodded appreciatively. "Well, it definitely suits you." Remembering Dawson's  
reason for being so late, Joey's eyes trailed to Dawson's feet, which she found to be  
wearing a rather impressive pair of gold-painted boots outfitted with wings on the back.  
"Nice boots."

"Thanks," Dawson replied. "They're a present from Dad. Apparently, he still has some  
connections at Star Labs..."

"-Tina- had connections at Star Labs," interrupted Mitch, "I just did a lot of name-  
dropping."

Shrugging off his father's excuse, Dawson continued his explanation. "From what he  
told me, they should be able to withstand higher temperatures than my regular shoes,  
which will allow me to go even faster."

"Speaking of which," Mitch interrupted again, "You two better get going if you want to  
get there before things get too crowded." Realizing what Dawson's preferred speed of  
transportation was probably going to be, he gave Dawson the typical 'father' speech.  
Well, typical for them, anyway. "Remember Dawson, don't take off or stop in too public  
an area, watch your speed - you don't want to hurt Joey or burn off all your clothes -  
and be sure to be back before one, okay?"

Dawson rolled his eyes, but accepted the advice. "Okay, Dad."

Mitch smiled as he escorted the young couple to the door. "Good. Then have a good  
time, you two."

This time, it was Joey who replied. "Thanks, Mr. Leery, we will."

As Mitch closed the door on them with a quick "Good night," Dawson and Joey walked  
hand-in-hand to the elevator. Once they were sure they were alone, they spoke at the  
same time. "Dawson-" "Jo-"

Blushing when they realized what had happened, each of them then replied at the same  
time, "You go first."

Now chuckling, Joey conceded, "Dawson, you start."

Drawing in a deep breath and letting it out slowly, Dawson agreed. "Okay. Joey, I want  
to apologize."

Joey looked confused. "For what?"

It suddenly was becoming harder for Dawson to look Joey in the eye. "It took having to  
learn to deal with superspeed to realize that I hadn't been respecting you, Jo. You've  
been so great at accepting everything that's happened to me in the past couple of weeks,  
and I give you a hard time because you want to pursue your interest in being an artist.  
That wasn't fair to you, Joey. Can you forgive me?"

Joey had never been more in love with Dawson Leery than she was at that exact  
moment. Turning his face so that their eyes met, Joey replied, "Of -course- I forgive  
you, Dawson."

Relieved beyond words, Dawson's smile seemed to radiate from his whole body. "Still  
friends?"

Joey grinned back in response. Taking his hand, she replied, "Always."

They stepped out of the elevator, and walked out the door to the street. Turning their  
heads both ways to make sure they were alone, Joey slung the bow and arrow set over  
her shoulder and leapt into Dawson's arms. Affecting a melodramatic air, she ordered  
Dawson, "Mercury, take me to the dance!"

Enjoying the act, Dawson kept it up. "Goddess, your wish is my command..."

And in a flash of white light, Dawson and Joey sped off into the sunset.

THE END

**So what do you think? Has *anyone* read this story other than me? If so, thank you for your time and please leave a note in the comment guest book below. Thanks! :) **


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